This week I’m going to share some information from my PhD work on frailty and Parkinson’s disease.
Frailty is considered highly prevalent in older adults and increases vulnerability to adverse outcomes (falls, disability, hospitalization, and mortality). Popular scientific definitions operationalized frailty as a phenotype or an accumulation of deficits. However, the concurrence of frailty and Parkinson’s is interesting because they overlap… begging the question: does PD make someone frail? does frailty worsen PD symptoms?
presenting my research at the Movement Disorders Society Conference (Toronto, June 2011)
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Find article here: Roland, Jakobi & Powell (2012). J Amer Geriatr Soc; 60(3), 590-592.
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When looking at quality of life (QoL) indicators, we see that QoL score predicts frailty in persons with PD, especially mobility-related QoL and in females. What does this mean? … how well you move around in your day-to-day life (mobility) is the biggest indicator of frailty risk in persons with PD and that females with PD are more likely to be frail than males.
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So, keeping active and mobile will lessen your risk for frailty, and keep you happier as you age with Parkinson’s ! much love.
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My dad battled PD for 26 years. I never considered him to be frail until the last year of his life. I attribute that to the fact that he was a marathon runner and had well defined muscle mass. While he did fall more times than I can count (he was quite independent i.e. stubborn) he never broke a bone other than his nose.
being frail is something we can prevent and reverse, even with Parkinson’s, … and staying active (he was a marathoner? Right On!) is number ONE!
With Parkinson’s, frailty seems to result from complications related to increased medication and the fatigue that accompanies disease progression. so great to read about inspiring people with Parkinson’s!